Lord of the Rings: 2012
by Little Christian
Summary: The Ring has been destroyed-or so we thought. Follow 13-year-old, gamer, Maxwell Taylor, and his 11-year-old sister, Marigold, as they travel Middle-earth on the journey to destory the Ring once and for all. Joined by four young Hobbits, adventure is in their near future. *Temporary Hiatus*
1. Chapter 1

**Lord of the Rings: 2012**

**_If _****this ****_isn't inspiration, I don't know _****what ****_is. My brother (Rock Raider Fan 001) had received the _****LEGO Lord of the Rings ****_game for PC for Christmas, and with it came a replica of the Ring! We know for sure it's replica, because when we put it on, we don't disappear. XD Anyway, my brother came up with this idea about how the Ring came to modern day California, and how an avid gamer boy, and his younger sister have to destroy it once and for all! Well, how about I let you read for yourself? Enjoy!_**

**_A/N: The first part, in italics, was written by RRF001, and edited by me. The story photo is of my brother's ring, along with his Xbox 360 controller, and PC mouse._**

_The Ring had been cast into Mount. Doom, Gollum falling in with it... But before the ring could even get white hot, Mt. Doom erupted and the Ring was thrown many thousands of miles and embedding into a mountain far, far away. _

_Many thousands of years had past and the rock surrounding the Ring had eroded away over eons of storms, strong winds, and earthquakes, until, finally, thousands of years after it was thought to be destroyed, a slight gust of wind nudged the Ring off its precarious platform, and it started rolling down the mountain onto a road in a large city, the Hollywood sign behind it. _

_The Ring, as it has a mind of its own, started taking rather strange turns, and directed itself to a small, two-story house in the suburbs. The Ring hit some upturned road gravel and flew into an open window, leading to a child's bedroom._

13-year-old Maxwell Taylor barely noticed the soft tapping of a small band of gold, as it bounced off his desk, and rolled along the floorboards. His eye caught a brief flash as the sun's rays hit the Ring, as it rolled under the bed.

"Must have been a coin I dropped," he muttered to himself, stooping down on his hands and knees to find the lost item. His fingers enclosed the Ring, still warm from friction, as he pulled out from its hiding place. He opened his hand, and stared down at the item.

"Why is this here?" he wondered aloud. Just then, his 11-year-old sister, Marigold, burst into the room. She looked very similar to her brother, with the same blonde hair, and green eyes.

"Max! Max!" she cried. "I've finally completed Kirby's Epic Yarn! That's enough video games for me…"

"I'm so happy for you," Max replied, though clearly not listening. Mari noticed the small gold object in his hand.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing.

"It's a ring," Max replied.

"Well duh! But what is it? Let me see!" She snatched the ring from his palm, and inspected it. Her eyes grew wide, and she gasped.

"No way!" she cried.

"No way what?" Max asked. "What's wrong?"

"It can't be!"

"It can't be what?"

"Max, this is _THE RING!_"

"The what?"

"The Ring… Max… _The _Ring."

"What ring? What's so special about the ring?" Marigold stared at her brother as if he had grown a second head.

"You know!" Max shrugged. Mari sighed. "One Ring to rule them all…?"

"One Ring… to find them…?"

"THAT'S IT!" Mari cried, jumping up and down with excitement. She was a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and having the actual Ring in her own house made her dizzy with exhilaration.

"That's not possible!"

"But it is!"

"No, it's obviously a hoax; a trick ring."

"Then explain the intricate and accurate writing along the sides?"

"Obviously whoever made this had a great eye for detail," Max replied. "Sorry, sis, but this can't be the real ring."

"Then how do you explain _this_?" Marigold declared, as she slipped the Ring on her small finger. Before Max could blink, she disappeared from sight.

Marigold looked around her; the whole room seemed different; foggy, disorientated, and chaotic. She gasped, and yanked the Ring off her finger. Taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, she looked up at her brother.

"My advice; don't put this Ring on."

"But that can't be possible!" Max cried. Mari grinned.

"But it must be," she said. "Which means we have to destroy it!"

"What?! How?" Max asked, alarmed.

"In the fires of Mount Doom, of course, where it was made. It's the only way!" She began pacing the room, deep in thought. "We have to get to Middle-earth somehow."

"Middle-earth doesn't even exist!" Max snapped, having had enough of this nonsense.

"It must, if the Ring does." She stopped pacing, and grinned. "Just imagine, Maxwell; us tramping along the terrain of Middle-earth. We may even meet an Elf, or Dwarf." She grabbed his sleeve, and pulled him down the stairs towards the front door. "It'll be a great adventure!"

"Oh, you little noob! There is no way we can get there," Max insisted. "It's not real!"

"You never know…" Mari whispered, with a mysterious smile. With a flourish, she threw open the door; Max could not believe his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

In front of the astonished boy, was not the street of his sub-urban neighbourhood in the afternoon that he knew so well, but a green place, at night time with little round windows and doors embedded in hillsides.

"Where… where are we?" he asked, as though recently waking up from a dream. He looked down at his sister, expecting her to be just as astounded, and frightened as himself. To his surprise, she looked as though she was entering a newly-opened amusement park, with all the cotton candy she could eat.

"We… we must be in the Shire," was all she could mutter. She turned to face her brother. "We're in Middle-earth."

"Not for long," Max snapped. "I'm outta here!" And he turned to go back inside his front door. "Mar…" **(A/N: I know this looks like a typo for Mari, but actually, Max sometimes calls her that. For pronunciation, it's the same as 'mare')** he said, sounding troubled, and turning back around. "Where's the front d- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Shh!" Mari hissed her finger to her lips. She was looking in a window with a warm, inviting light. "It's a group of Hobbits, having supper."

"Yeah; and I bet they'd rather have it in peace. So come back here, and make the door reappear."

"The door's gone?" Mari asked, looking startled for once. "I didn't make it go."

"Yes, it's gone. Which means we can't go home." Mari grinned, and Max knew what she was thinking. "But I'm still not going to Mount Doom!"

"Then at least come with me to visit the Hobbits," Mari said. "I'm starving."

"Don't you dare, Mar," Max snapped. "You are not to knock on that door!" Mari turned to face him with a look on her face that said 'I'm going to knock on that door', and she proceeded to do so. Max face-palmed himself, and went to join her.

After a few short moments, they were greeted by a small person almost a foot shorter than Marigold (Marigold was four feet), with curly brown hair. He seemed surprised to see children – human children, even – as his doorstop, but welcomed them in, anyway.

"Do sit down and join us for supper," he said cheerfully, leading them into a welcoming room with three other Hobbits. "I'm Sancho Baggins. These are my cousins, Milo Brandybuck, and Rorimac Took. And my gardener, Ferdinand Gamgee."

"And this is Rorim's sister, Mimosa," Milo added, gesturing to a young Hobbit girl. All the Hobbits were – what Hobbits would consider – young, as none of them had reached their "coming of age". Marigold inspected them each closely, and determined that Ferdinand was the oldest, followed by Sancho, Milo, Mimosa, and Rorimac was the youngest (Later she discovered that Rorim was Max's age). Each of them had curly brown hair on their heads and feet.

"I'm Marigold," Mari said. "And this is my brother Max. We're here on a mission!"

"A mission?" Rorim queried. "What sort of mission?"

"A mission to-" Max began, before stopping himself. "This is stupid! This isn't real!"

"But dear brother, how can we be here if it's no real?" Mari asked.

"Simple," Max replied. "It's all just a very strange dream, and if you pinch me, Mar, I shall wake up."

"Pinch you?" Mari said hesitantly.

"Yes pinch me. Nice and hard. On the arm. Hard as you can!" Max insisted, holding out his arm. "How bad could it be, anyway?" he added to himself. Mari looked doubtfully at the Hobbits, before reaching out and gave her brother a sharp pinch.

"YE-OW!" he cried. "You're stronger than you look!"

"Believe me now?" Mari asked, crossing her arms over her chest, and frowning at Max. Max sighed, and nodded.

"Do explain what this mission is all about!" Rorim said eagerly (Tooks had always been the adventurous types).

"It's about unfinished business," Mari said.

"Oh, a revenge?" Milo asked, looking at the children with disapproval in his eyes.

"No, no, not revenge," Max said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ring. "We're going to Mount Doom to destroy this Ring."

"Wasn't that done by our ancestors years ago?" Sancho asked.

"So they thought," Mari replied in a whisper. "Somehow it ended up in our world."

"What do you mean by 'your world'?" Mimosa asked, looking suspiciously at Mari.

"What she means is that… She means it somehow came to us."

"Hopefully we'll have less of a hard time than Frodo Baggins, and the Fellowship," Ferdinand muttered. Mari gasped.

"We'll need our own Fellowship!" she cried.

"Who's going to help five young Hobbits and a couple of children?!" Milo asked.

"For we are, indeed, five young Hobbits and a couple of children," Rorim added.

"Well…" Mari looked doubtful.

"We'll have to do this alone," Ferdinand said.

"No! No! _Someone _will help us!"

"They won't. They'll think we're just a few silly children role-playing the journey to destroy the Ring."

"And in any case, I won't be going. And neither will Rorim," Mimosa said.

"What do you mean by that?" her younger brother asked.

"You're too young, and even if I was going, I wouldn't let you go."

"Well that's not fair!" Mari said. "All his friends get to have a great adventure, and he has to stay home, and imagine all the fun he could be having."

"Fun?!" Max exclaimed, looking at his sister with a stern eye. "You think this'll be fun?! I wouldn't even have come, had you not dragged me through the door! And maybe you shouldn't go, either. There's too much danger! In fact, none of us ought to go, and that's that." Mari and Rorim looked at each other, and scowled. Typical older siblings; leave the youngest out of everything. In any case, this mission was mandatory, and if Max wasn't going, Mari would.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three. I am so grateful for all your reviews. Especially since this is our first LOTR story (Remeber, this is wirtten with ideas from Rock Raider Fan 001, my brother). Here is the third chapter; enjoy!**

After successfully convincing Max otherwise – he stated that he had been extremely upset about the whole situation, and therefore hadn't been thinking straight – but failing to persuade Mimosa, the three Hobbits going, and the two children discussed their plans. Rorim listened in, even though he was not included.

"In no-one ends up assisting us, what do we do?" Sancho asked.

"We go alone, of course!" Mari replied. "Either way, this has to be done, and by us."

"But why specifically us?" Ferdinand asked. "Not that I'm not eager for a bit of adventure."

"The Ring brought to Max. He was chosen to take it to Mount Doom. I insisted to come along, and since you Hobbits are in the know, you obviously must help." She sighed, laying her head on her arms on the table. "I'm so tired."

"Okay!" Sancho said, standing up suddenly, and banging his hands on the table. "We leave early tomorrow morning. But for now, get some rest."

"Excuse me," Max said. "Where are Mar and me supposed to sleep?"

"Ferdinand has a couple extra beds at his house," Sancho replied. "I'm sure he won't mind letting you stay for the night."

"Sure don't," Ferdinand replied with stiff nod.

"Excellent. We'll meet at Milo's house, and head out from there."

"Fine," Max agreed. "Come on, Mari." Mari had been whispering something to Rorim, and quickly got up to follow Max and Ferd.

As Mari snuggled into her bed that night, she sighed.

"It's not like home," she muttered, moving around for seemed like the eighteenth time that night. She stared at her brother, fast asleep in his bed across the room. Her gaze fell on the Ring sitting on the bedside table.

"One Ring to rule them all…" she whispered, quoting the script on the edge of the Ring. "And only one place to destroy it…" She shifted around once more, before falling asleep.

Just before six am, Max was shaken awake by Ferdinand.

"Come on," he said, throwing a grey cloak on him. Ferdinand already had his on.

"Where's Mar?" Max mumbled.

"She's up, ready, and waiting outside. Come on!" He tugged Max to his feet, helped him get the cloak on right, and led him out the door. Mari was there, a pack on her back. She was wearing a dark green cloak. At her feet were two other packs. Ferdinand picked them up, and handed one to max, while putting the other on his back.

"Milo's house is just up the road," Merimas explained. "Just follow me." He hastily led the why down the path, before reaching a Hobbit-hole with a blue door. He knocked on the door, and it was quickly opened by Milo, who had his pack and cloak on already.

"Great," he said. "The Sancho's already here. Come in and have a quick breakfast." He led them through to the kitchen, were Sancho was waiting. They had a simple breakfast of bread, butter, and mushrooms, before heading out the door for their journey.

Mari kept at the back the group, dropping farther and farther behind, before quickly darting behind a hill, bumping into an open window shutter in the process. There, Rorim was waiting, cloak and pack ready.

"Once they actually notice you are with us, it'll be too late to go back," Mari said. "Come on, before they notice me gone!" They quickly ran back to the rear of the group, and marched along out of the Shire, and into unknown territory.

"This is exciting!" Sancho exclaimed.

"This is scary," Milo added.

"This is weird," Ferdinand muttered.

"I can't believe I got talked into doing this!" Max cried.

"Too late now," Mari said, as she walked alongside her brother. Behind her, Rorim sneezed. Sancho and Ferd looked behind them, and sighed.

"Rorim!" they exclaimed.

"We should have known you would do something like this!" Sancho said, sighing again. "You'll have to go back."

"I don't know my way back, Sancho," Rorim replied, sneaking a wink at Mari. "And now that I'm here, I might as well come."

Sancho looked at Ferdinand and Milo, who nodded.

"All right," he said. "Come on, then."

"I'll try and get a satellite signal on my iPhone GPS, and figure out how to get to Mordor," Max said, as he began to take his iPhone out of his pocket. Mari put a hand up to stop him.

"Don't bother," she said. "There would be no satellites in Middle-earth."

"Man, this place in behind the times." As he slipped the phone back, the Ring fell out of his pocket. Mari stooped to pick it up.

"Mar," Max said. "Give us the Ring. It's gotta stay hidden."

"Yes, of course," Mari nodded, handing the Ring to her brother. Rorim trotted up beside her.

"I almost got caught by Mim when I was sneaking out this mornin'," he said. "Told her I heard a strange noise outside, and had to investigate."

"Did she believe it?" Mari asked.

"Not in the least. Luckily you bumped into the shutter, and I told her that was the sound. She got scared, and ran back to her room." He shook his head. "She's not the bravest Took."

"Well, fate has obviously decided that you were meant to come on this journey," Mari said. "She should learn not to mess with fate."

"Say, will we be getting any horses on this trip?" Milo asked.

"As far as I know, no," Sancho replied. "This'll have to be on foot."

"Do we even have a map?" Ferdinand asked.

"I told you earlier," Sancho sighed irritably. "I'm prepared!"

"What time is it?" Rorim asked.

"Almost nine am," Ferdinand answered. "Why?"

"Is it time for second breakfast?"

"Uh, I'm afraid we'd have to go for two or three meals a day on this trip, Rorimac," Sancho replied. "Otherwise we'd run out of food before we even got to Mordor."

"WHAT?!" Rorim cried. "But… but… second breakfast is the second most important meal of the day! Would we have elevensies?"

"Nope."

"Luncheon?"

"No."

"Afternoon tea?"

"No."

"Dinner?"

"No."

"Supper?"

"Yes," Ferdinand said. "But even the meals we have will be rationed."

"I'll starve to death before we get there…" Rorim sighed.

"That'd be one less mouth to feed," Milo replied playfully.

"Will we meet the freak guy, Mar?" Max asked his sister. "What's his name? Beagle?"

"Sméagol," Mari replied, "or Gollum. And no. The Ring may not have burned in the volcano of Mount Doom, but Gollum certainly did."

"I'm hungry!" Rorim complained, and Milo rolled his eyes. "How about we have bigger meals, but fewer mealtimes?"

"That would be the same as having smaller meals, and more mealtimes," Sancho replied. "Just deal with it."

"Plus," Rorim continued, ignoring Sancho completely, "all this walking will make me hungry even faster."

"I don't see how that's possible…" Milo muttered.

"And what if we run out of food anyway?"

"The only way that'll happen is if you take a couple of midnight snacks," Sancho mumbled.

"And what about if-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Max shouted. Rorim promptly shut his mouth, and Mari stared wide-eyed at her brother.

By now, they had reached the Brandywine River, and they stepped onto the Buckleberry Ferry. As they got across, Mari gazed at the opposite bank, a faraway look on her face.

"What is it, sis?" Max asked.

"Just remembering the stories," she replied. "When the Hobbits made it to this Ferry, they were almost caught by a Black Rider. Aren't we fortunate to not be perused by them?"

"I… guess," Max shrugged. "What were the Black Riders?"

"The Men who got nine of the rings," Mari explained.

"There were other rings?" Max asked, surprised.

"Of course," Mari whispered a distant look in her eyes. "_Three Rings for Elven-kings under the sky, seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the Land of Mordor where the Shadow lie. One Ring to rule that all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the Land of Mordor where the Shadow lie._" She turned her gaze to Max, and, taking his hand, they walked after the waiting Hobbits. Now was when the second Fellowship of the Ring began their journey through Middle-earth.

**Please review! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four here. Enjoy.**

They finally made it to Bree, tired already from the first leg of their journey. They headed towards the Prancing Pony Inn.

"Think they'd let kids in?" Mari asked.

"I doubt it," Max replied. But they entered all the same. As soon as they stood on the threshold, the smell of ale and beer entered their nostrils. Mari wrinkled her nose.

"I wonder if they have drinks I can have," she muttered. Five of them took a seat, while Milo went for drinks.

"Got a nice pint of beer," he announced, placing three pints on the table. "And milk for the young'ins." He placed three glasses of milk on the table in front of Max, Mari and Rorim.

"Can I taste the beer?" Max asked Sancho, curious to know of flavour.

"Sure," Sancho replied, handing him his mug for sip. Max sniffed it a couple times, before taking a nice big swig. His face crumpled as he smacked his lips.

"I'll stick with the milk," he said, shoving the mug back to Sancho. Sancho shrugged, but said nothing.

After several minutes of chattering about nothing in particular, they decided it would be best to get a room for the night.

The next morning, as the group got ready to leave, a tall man in a dark cloak approached Mari.

"What are you two children, you young Hobbits doing out here alone?" he asked. Mari looked at him silently for a moment, studying his eyes, before deciding he would not harm her or her friends, though her voice trembled as she spoke.

"We're on a quest," she replied, purposely not saying specifically what their quest was. "But who are you?"

"I'm a Ranger," the man replied, smiling warmly. "Don't fear me; I will bring no harm to you or your companions." Mari smiled, feeling at ease.

"What but is your name?" she asked.

"My name is Orgulas; I come from Rohan. And who is this that I have the pleasure of making acquaintance?"

"I'm Marigold and I come from Los Angeles."

"Distant lands unheard of?"

"Pretty much."

"And who are your friends?"

"That's my older brother, Max." She pointed to him. "He's talking to Sancho, a Hobbit. And the other two there are Ferdinand, and Milo. And Rorim is the littler one. They're from the Shire."

"And brings all of you so far from home?" Orgulas asked.

"We're on an important mission," Mari explained. "But I don't think I can give you the details; it's all very secret, really."

"I understand," Orgulas nodded with a smile.

"Mar!" Max called. "Why are you talking to that man? We don't know him!"

"This is Orgulas, Max," Mari introduced. "He's a Ranger. I was just telling him we are on a mission."

"You didn't tell him what we were doing exactly?" Sancho asked anxiously.

"Of course not!" Mari said. "I'm not that stupid."

"If it pleases you young people," Orgulas said, "I would wish to join you on your quest. I know these lands quite well, and I could help guide you to your destination." He then added, "Plus, it is not good for young ones to wander alone." Mari turned to look at her companions. Max and Milo nodded in agreement; Ferdinand said he couldn't care less; Rorim complained it would mean less food for the journey. But Sancho looked doubtful.

"I really don't know if this is a good idea," he said thoughtfully.

"But it would mean less chance of getting lost," Milo said.

"And more chance of us running out of food," Rorim added.

"I will bring my own provisions, and - if it is your wish - sleep a fair distance from your camp," Orgulas told them. "I have three horses, and am quite handy with a sword."

"Very well," Sancho agreed. "Welcome to our Fellowship, Orgulas." He held out his hand, and the Ranger shook it cheerfully.

"One question," Max said. "Why would one man have three horses?"

"One was for me to ride, one was for provisions, and the third was for my friend who used to travel with me. He died recently, and I was going to sell his horse." His face showed little emotion, but Mari could see the sadness in his blue eyes. She smiled sympathetically.

"No need, now, is there?" she asked softly. Orgulas smiled.

"Aye," he said. "I was going to miss the old beast. Now, if I'm going to be joining you on this quest, I'll need to know what this quest is." Sancho quickly filled him in on the details, while Orgulas patiently listened, nodding his head slowly every now and then. Mari and Max added in how they came to get the Ring. When they finished, Orgulas sat silent for a moment.

"I was right," he said at last. "You young ones shouldn't do this alone."

"I'm not even supposed to be here," Rorim added. "My sister forbade it, but I sneaked out." He smiled as though proud of his accomplishment. Orgulas laughed.

"Well, I suggest we starts before it gets too late in the day," he said, leading out to where his horses were tied. "Any of you know how to ride?" he asked.

"I know a bit," Sancho said.

"I'm pretty good," Ferdinand added.

"Great," Orgulas nodded. "Three of you Hobbits can fit on one horse. Sancho, you ride with Max, and Mari can ride with me."

"Okay," everyone agreed. Orgulas helped Ferdinand, Milo and Rorim onto their horse and Sancho onto his. He then turned to Mac.

"Think you can hoist yourself up? You're about tall enough."

"Uh… no," Max answered, shaking his head. Orgulas helped him mount, then lifted Mari onto his horse, and swung up behind her on the saddle. "We'll ride to Weathertop and camp there for the night." And he galloped off down the track, Sancho and Ferdinand close behind.

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! Sorry for the long update wait. My brother wrote most of this chapter (you might be able to tell from the different writing styles). So all author's notes in bold writing are his, and his alone. Anyway, enjoy, and all that!**

When the group reached Weathertop, it was dark, so they set up camp. Ferdinand had a warm fire blazing, cooking sausages and eggs. Mari sat in front of the fire warming her hands in front of the flames. Rorim kept pestering Ferdinand about when the supper would be, so Milo offered to go for a little wander with him until it was ready. Max and Sancho were helping Orgulas lay out make-shift beds, since neither of the children thought to bring a tent, and the ground was too hard to sleep on, anyway. Max grumbled to himself the entire time, glaring at his sister everyone once and a while. Ferdinand noticed, and pointed it out to Mari, but she simply shrugged it off.

"He'll cool down soon enough," she explained. "He's just grumpy because he can't play his video games. He's really into this game called _Sonic Generations_."

"Oh, I understand," Ferdinand nodded, but clearly didn't.

Milo and Rorim came back shortly after, and, much to Rorim's delight, supper was served, and everyone sat around the warm fire to eat. Though not too concerned by Max's attitude towards her, Mari sat as far away from him, and as close to Orgulas as she could, feeling more protected.

"We really should have brought some mushrooms," Rorim sighed.

"Why didn't you think to?" Milo asked him.

"Because, I was never supposed to come in the first place, so how could I?"

"Touché."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to bed," Max said, standing up and yawning.

"Me, too," Milo agreed, doing likewise. He looked down at Rorim, who was taking another sausage. "Now don't you be trying to get any more supper tonight, you hear?" he said sternly. Rorim paused mid-bite, nodding his head. Milo grunted, satisfied, and went to his bed. Everyone else soon followed, and Ferdinand put out the fire.

Mari couldn't get comfortable, and tossed and turned constantly in her attempt to sleep. Finally she gave up trying, and lay on her back, staring up at the sky.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," she sighed.

"I wouldn't say that," said a voice. Mari turned and saw Orgulas looking out into the distance. Mari stood and walked over to sit next to him.

"You should really get some sleep, little one."

"I can't," Mari replied. "Why are you awake?"

"Despite the fact there may be no Ringwraiths, or Orcs to come after us," Orgulas explained. "There are other dangers."

"Like what?"

"Just vicious beasts; nothing you should worry about."

"I once took archery lessons," Mari said, as though changing the subject. "My instructor said I was really good. If you have a bow and arrows, I could use those as weapons."

"I don't think there will be much danger on this journey, but I could be wrong. Now you should back to sleep."

"Alright then… Goodnight, Orgulas." Mari said, and walked back to her mat.

"Goodnight… Marigold." Orgulas said, as he stared off into the distance.

He heard a forlorn howling somewhere over the hills.

"Wargs." he said, and spat on the ground in disgust.

He then heard a sound unknown to him, but very familiar to us.

"What's that sound?" Orgulas wondered to himself.

He walked over to Max's mat and saw he had his iPhone out playing Angry Birds.

"What is that?" Orgulas asked.

"Angry Birds." Max said, half to himself, then he realized he had company. "Oh, hi, Orgulas."

"Hello, Max. What is that?"

"Angry Birds." He repeated, "It's a game where you load cartoon birds in a slingshot and try and destroy structures made by some green pigs who stole their eggs."

"How can pig steal eggs?" Orgulas asked, clearly confused. "And why are they green?" He peered over Max's shoulder, trying to understand the game. Max sighed.

"Never mind," he said. "I'm going to sleep." He turned off the phone, and lay down under his cloak, "Besides, I have to conserve the battery." He said. Orgulas shrugged, and went back to his post.

The next morning was greeted with the sweet scent of sausages and eggs cooking over the fire.

Max's eyes snapped open, and his stomach growled.

"Mmm. Smells good, Ferdy." Max said, sniffing the air to catch whiffs of the aromatic breakfast.

"Yes, I added some herbs I found over the hill. There are also some mushrooms that I gathered over the same hill."

Rorim sat up suddenly from his bed, eyes wide with excitement.

"MUSHROOMS?! Lemmiatem!" he said, quickly.

"Hold your horses, Rorimac Took!" Ferdinand told him, "There's enough for everyone."

"Hurry up, then!" Rorim whined.

"Just wait!" Max shouted, "Do something to pass the time and take your mind off food!"

"Like what?!" Rorim demanded.

"I dunno, play Angry Birds?!" He said, but remembered that Hobbits do not have access to the App Store… Or iPhones for that matter.

"What?" Rorim asked, obviously confused.

"Never mind… Um, try to distract yourself."

"But what about the smell of breakfast?" Rorim asked

"Oh, I forgot. It's essentially the elephant in the room." Max said, thinking, "I know," he snapped his fingers "I'll play a game with you! What games do you like, Rorim? Eye-spy, 20 Questions, Hide and Seek, Monopoly?"

"TAG!" the young Hobbit cried, shoving into Max before running off down the hill. Max sighed, and sprinted after him. Despite him being a gamer, Max is very athletic. He finally caught up to the young Took, and stuck out his hand and…

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Max shouted, clearly having a blast.

Rorim took **(Lol, see my inadvertent joke?) **off back up the hill to try and catch Max, but he was too quick for him, he faked to the right just as Rorim reached out to touch him, and took of further down the hill before tripping on a hard, white object.

"OW! I think I twisted my ankle!" Max shouted, "HELP!"

Orgulas sprang up from his breakfast, that Ferdinand had finished making long ago, and sprinted down the hill towards Max.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I tripped on something, a couple feet up there." Max said, wincing in pain.

"Ferdinand, keep Max company while I check."

Orgulas walked up the hill towards the object, and saw it was a bone. But that bone had deep teeth marks on it.

"Wargs!" Orgulas gasped.

"Oh dear, is that bad?"

"Is that _bad_?! Of course it's bad! Wargs are a dangerous wolf species, Orcs ride them sometimes."

"Orcs riding wolves? That doesn't sound good." Max said, uncertainly.

"Oh, it's worse than not good, Max. Wargs are dangerous on their own, and this is a hunting pack, too."

"So, ten times the danger."

"Or more than that, even! I've encountered Warg packs as large as fifty, and others before me at over a hundred!"

"Oh my! Well, how 'bout we avoid them?" Max suggested.

"That's easier said than done, my lad. Wargs are excellent trackers, and when they want something, they'll get it!"

"How do we know they want us? I mean, we can always assume the worst, but also the best."

"Because this kill they have here is not from here, goats stay in the lowlands."

"That's a goat's bone? How can you tell?" Max asked.

"He's a ranger, Max," Mari said; when she walked down to join them, "He knows this stuff."

"I should've known." Max said, rolling his eyes. "Can I still walk?"

"Yes, but your ankle needs to heal, so I'll make a travois for you to lie on while it heals. You can walk some short distances, but no running."

"What's a travois?"

"It's like a sled, but made from materials found around you."

"So in other words, it's not made of wood and iron?"

"Precisely, except for the wood part, as that's normally found all over the place."

"Oh. Need any help?"

"No, I can do it; I'll help you back up to your breakfast."

"Thanks, Orgulas."

"No problem, Max."

"You look parched, Max. Need a drink of water?" Ferdinand asked.

"Yes please! That would be great!" he said, licking his dry lips.

"Max," Mari scolded. "How many times has mom told you not to do that? That'll chap your lips."

"But they're dry!" Max protested.

"Then drink some water."

"Do what the lass says, and have a drink." Ferdinand said, handing him a tankard of cold spring water.

Max took a sip. Then another, then another. Then he drained the whole tankard.

"I'll never be used to filtered tap water again!" Max exclaimed, wiping his mouth on his shirt sleeve, "Could I have some more of that, Ferdy?"

"Sure thing, Max. I'll be right back." Ferdinand trotted off down the hill to the spring.

"Uh… What's 'filtered tap' water?" Rorim asked. Max and Mari laughed, and continued eating.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Wow, we've got a lot of progress on this story; just haven't updated yet! :O Here's the next chapter; enjoy!**

After breakfast, as the Hobbits started packing up, Mari, Max and Orgulas went for a walk a short distance away (Max's ankle was better sooner than expected). Mari seemed deep in thought, and every now and then she would mutter something under her breath.

"What's troubling you, Mar?" Max asked.

"Just trying to figure out what happened next," Mari replied. "The Hobbits and Aragorn went to Rivendell, and that's where their Fellowship was formed. But we already got our Fellowship, so I'm wondering whether or not we go straight onto Moria."

"I'd say we'd better go straight to Moria," Orgulas said. "It'll save time, and we'll get there faster."

"Thing is, this adventure is such fun, I'm wondering whether or not I _want_ to get there faster," Mari sighed.

When the three returned, camp had been all packed up, and the Hobbits were anxious to get a move on.

"We'll go straight onto Moria," Orgulas said in an authoritative voice. The four Hobbits looked at each other, then back to him and nodded. Everyone picked up their packs, mounted their horses, and started down the track at a slow walk.

"Can't we go any faster?" Max complained.

"Sure, but will you be able to stay on?" Orgulas asked from the front.

"Probably not," Max admitted. Mari laughed.

"We can't let the horses get too tired too soon, either," she added.

Most of that journey was uneventful. They stopped every now and then to rest from the heat, water the horses, or have a quick meal before getting back onto the trail. Sometimes the group would dismount their horses and led them by the bridle so they could stretch their legs. By nightfall, they had almost made it half-way, and stopped for the night.

"I can see Mount Moria!" Mari exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a tall snow-capped mountain in the distance.

"I estimate we'll be there by nightfall tomorrow," Orgulas predicted. "We can spend the night in the mines, and continue in the morning."

"Won't the mines have Orcs and cave-trolls?" Mari asked uncertainly.

"I don't know about the cave troll, but I have a feeling there aren't any more Orcs around these days. It's been thousands of years since the original journey."

"That long?" Max asked. "And you _still _have no iPhones?!" Mari rolled her eyes.

The next morning, they travelled quickly, hoping to get to the mines before dark.

"Don't people come around these parts too often?" Max asked.

"Not that I know of," Orgulas replied. "But it does seem that way." The sun was setting in the west, turning the clouds and sky shades of pink and gold. The evening breeze blew against their faces as they galloped along. Just as they sky was turning dark, they reached the mines. Once they figured out the way inside, they carried on, leading the horses by their bridles. They all looked around for a good place to sleep for the night, and soon they found a good place. It was dark, but once Ferdinand lit a fire, the room brightened up from the cheery glow.

"You can't expect us to have mushrooms every night, Rorimac Took," Ferdinand argued. "Eat what you're given, or starve."

"That's cruel…" Rorim growled in a low voice, and Ferdinand laughed.

"I wonder if we'll lose one of out party here like they lost Gandalf," Mari wondered aloud. "I hope not. And I hope we don't separated either." She bit her lip, her brow creasing in concern.

"We'll stick together as much as we can, lass," Ferdinand told her. "If one is lost, we'll look for 'em. If one is ill, we'll take care of 'em. We'll stay together and watch out for each other."

"Ferdinand's right, Marigold," Orgulas added. "No need to worry."

The next morning, Max woke up, and yawned. His head ached slightly, but he figured it was from sleeping on stone. He was the first up, surprisingly, because they usually woke up early to get a quick start, and Max hated getting up early.

"Maybe I'm getting used to it," he said to himself, yawning again. He sat up, looked around, and his heart froze.

"Then again…" he muttered, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things – or not seeing things. Everyone was gone! They must have packed up and left during the night.

"What's going on?!" he yelled, loud enough to make fragments of rock fall from the top of the mines. He held his breath, hoping to hear any sound of life, cold sweat forming on his brow.

"Why would they do that?" he asked himself. "I mean, Mari wouldn't agree to it, would she? She's too nice!"

"Max!" Mari cried, rushing up to her brother, and kneeled beside him, clinging onto him. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. Max, extremely confused, wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"What's going on?" he asked after a moment.

"Wargs," Mari replied, taking a deep breath. "They got in the mines somehow last night. They carried off Rorim and Sancho. Orgulas and Milo went after them, saying they should catch up with them quickly."

"So they told you to stay here where it's safe?" Max asked. Mari nodded. "What about Ferd?"

"He's here," Mari answered. "He insisted on staying, to keep us safe."

"And I slept through the whole thing?!" Max asked, extremely shocked.

"You had a little help," Mari said. "When Rorim tried to defend himself with a sword, he accidentally knocked you in the head with the handle." She stifled a giggle.

"Those Warg beasties must've got to the food before coming for us," Ferdinand grumbled as he came out from behind the rocks where they hid the food. "Oh, hullo, Max."

"Hey, Ferdy," Max greeted.

"Listen, Mari," Ferdinand said to the young girl. "No need to panic, you know, lass."

"Oh, I know," Mari nodded. Then she bit her lip. "Orgulas and Milo left over two hours ago."

"Which is why I said not to panic," Ferdinand said, gathering their remaining possessions.

"What are you doing?" Max asked.

"We're going," Ferdinand replied. "Here are your cloaks; it's still very early and cold. We can't stay here waiting for them all. If they come back, they'll meet us on the way."

The little group quickly packed what they had left, and left the mines.

"Where are we going?" Max asked in a whisper. Though there was no need, this was one of the situations in which one felt it was necessary to speak softly.

"I don't know," Ferdinand replied.

"And I was hoping we wouldn't get separated," Mari sighed.

**Please review! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ugh, so many chapters! Hey, if you readers aren't keeping up with the updates, iy might take you _forever_ to read through the whole thing... :P Enjoy!**

"What could have possessed these Wargs to go into the mines, anyway?" Max asked after an hour or so of walking in silence.

"I don't know," Ferdinand said.

"Maybe Sauron." Mari suggested.

"That's ridiculous, Mar!" Max said, "How could he do that?"

"He's a strange guy, Max. He made that Ring, remember?"

Max fingered the Ring in his pocket.

"I don't like this thing." He said after a while, "Why can't I just chuck it away somewhere?"

"Because, someone might find it again, and Sauron will still live if we don't destroy the Ring." Mari said.

"Oh yeah, I remember."

"And that's why we have to do this mission, got it?"

"Got it." Max said, reluctantly. "Where is Sauron, if he's not dead?"

"The Wargs that came into the Mines…" Ferdinand said thoughtfully. "They don't usually do that."

"You're saying Sauron's spirit is in one of those Wargs?" Max asked, snorting from laughter.

"Yes."

"Oh…" Max was silent.

They walked along for a couple more hours when Max whooped. Mari got startled.

"What?" she asked.

"I beat your high-score for Angry Birds. I remember the level you played and you beat me the first time. Now I beat you!"

"You almost gave me a heart-attack for that?! It's completely irrelevant!"

"Sor-ry," Max shrugged, rolling his eyes.

Sometime later, he suddenly stopped, and squatted on the ground.

"I got a stone in my shoe," he muttered, unaware the other two didn't notice him stop. After he finally got the thing out, he stood up straight, and looked around.

"What? They're gone?!" he cried. "But that wasn't even five minutes! Great; now I'll never find them."

"Max!" Mari called, as she came back around the corner. "There you are! Make sure you keep up with us."

"Did you find him, lass?" Ferdinand asked, as he came into view. "That's good, then. Don't want you getting lost."

"Why did you stop?" Mari asked.

"To get a stone out of my shoe," Max replied.

"45% of group separation is caused by a stone in the shoe," Mari said matter-of-factly.

"Too right," Ferdinand agreed. "That's why we Hobbits don't wear them shoes."

"Oh, shut up," Max grumbled. "Let's just go."

They trudged along a steep incline for a few more minutes. Then the tunnel levelled out, and came into a large cavern. In the middle were a lot of Warg corpses, with daggers embedded in them.

"Eww! That's totally gross!" Max said, shielding his eyes.

"But you see worse stuff in some of the games you play." Mari told him, shuddering at the memories.

"But I've stopped _playing _those games now."

"Touché." Mari said. "But only because Mom told you to."

"But why did they leave the daggers? I thought that you would keep weapons like these." Ferdinand said.

"They look kinda old…" Max said, stooping down to inspect an unused dagger, "The handles all look the same."  
"They're made of stone," Ferdinand said, picking up the dagger. He was right; the daggers were crudely cut slabs of stone, and fastened to a wooden handle with strong ropes. They looked ugly and evil and Mari shuddered as she looked at it.

"Metal daggers are bad enough," she said. "But for some reason, stone daggers seem more… more…"

"Inhumane?" Ferdinand suggested. Mari nodded. "They could be orc daggers."  
"Are there still orcs around?" Max asked. Ferdinand shrugged.

"I wouldn't know; this'd be the first time I left the Shire."

"Do you want to go back?" Mari asked softly. Ferdinand seemed to think for a moment.

"Yes," he said at last, and said no more, but carried on through the Mines. Max and Mari exchanged glances and shrugged, following him.

"'45% of all group separations are caused by a stone in the shoe'," Max snorted. "You know nothing."

"I know something," Mari shot back. "I know that Hobbits have the right idea."

"What?"

"I'm hungry!"

"Ooh…" Max rolled his eyes, but he couldn't ignore the constant growl of his empty stomach. None of them had eaten anything since the previous evening.

"Imagine how poor Rorim must feel," Mari said after a long silence, stopping suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"I mean, carried off by Wargs in the middle of the night, and having no food as well!"

"Oh, brother…" Max groaned.

"You enjoyed playing Tag with him," Mari said simply, and hurried to catch up with Ferdinand. Max growled, and ran to catch up.

**Please review! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy!**

As they wandered around, they found more and more Wargs skeletons and half-decayed bodies. Mari cringed, gagging at the stench. Max absentmindedly pulled the Ring out of his pocket, fiddling with it as he walked around. He tripped over a large bone, the Ring flying out of his hands, and towards a chasm.

"NO!" he cried. Mari saw, and sprang towards it, half going over the edge, and fumbling before catching the Ring between her fingers.

"Whew," she sighed, then felt herself slipping. "AHH!" She was certain she was going to go over, when she felt arms wrap around her legs.

"Max?" she gasped.

"You're all right, lass," Ferdinand's voice said, sounding strained. "I've got you!" He started sliding backwards, pulling her back onto solid ground. She sat panting, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Thanks," she said, fingering the Ring. "Such a simple band of gold can make so much trouble. How I wish we could just chuck you away and end it there."

"Why not put it on a chain?" Ferdinand asked. Mari's eyes lit up, as she unclasped a necklace that was around her neck. She slipped off the round ruby-colours glass stone, and put the Ring on, handing it to Max, and placing the stone in her pocket.

"I'm not wearing that," Max complained. "It's girl jewellery." Mari shrugged, putting it around her own neck instead.

"Suit yourself."

"Just don't get any ideas," Max warned her.

"Hey, I put the stupid thing on once, and I don't want to do it again."

"You wore it?!" Ferdinand exclaimed.

"Yes…" Mari replied, sounding uncertain.

"What on earth could have possessed you to do that?!"

"I had to prove to Max it was the One Ring," Mari answered. "What harm could come of one time?"

"It will have power over you, urging you to wear it. Soon it will become an obsession, and you will turn into one of _them!_"

"You mean the Ring Wraiths?" Max asked. Mari bit her lip as Ferd nodded. "That won't happen to my sister."

"You never know…"

"Oh, please don't talk about it!" Mari cried, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Mom told you to cut your hair last week," Max said in an 'I-told-you-so' kind of way. Mari glared, and pulled her hair back into a long braid.

"Totally irrelevant," she said.

Finally they came out of the Mines, and into the cold morning air; it was barely dawn.

"It felt like we were in there for hours!" Max complained.

"We were," Ferdinand said.

"No wonder I'm so tired."

"Are we… allowed to rest?" Mari asked, a yawn interrupting her sentence. "Even if it's just for a minute?" Ferdinand looked doubtful, but the tired eyes of the children helped him make up his mind.

"All right," he agreed. "For a few minutes." Mari curled up on the soft grass under a tree, wrapping her cloak around her, and was soon asleep. Max sat down against the tree, pulling out his iPhone and getting back to Angry Birds. Ferdinand walked a few paces away, sat down; his cloak wrapped around his shoulders, and watched for danger.

Mari woke with a start at a shrill cry nearby. It sounded like it was right next to her! She was lying on her side, and the sound came from behind; she was afraid to turn around.

"Max?" she whispered, hoping he was there.

"FOR THE LOVE OF-" Max yelled.

"SHHH!" She heard Ferdinand hiss. "Your sister is asleep!"

"Not anymore!" Mari exclaimed, rolling over and staring at the two. "What happened?"

"Nothin'," Ferdinand said.

"Oh, yes, something happened!" Max snapped, standing at the tree and banging his fist against it. Mari winced at each hit.

"Stop it before you cause yourself some damage!" Ferdinand exclaimed, grabbing his wrist.

"Max," Mari said, standing and walking over to him.

"What?" Max snapped, turning to face her, and pulling his wrist free from Ferdinand's grip.  
"What happened?"

"See for yourself." He tossed his iPhone at her, and Mari caught it. She turned it on, but the screen remained blank.

"You broke it?"

"No," Max said, upset. "The battery died!"

"So you screamed as though you were being eaten alive by Wargs, scared me half to death, and possibly alerted anyone close, friend or adversary?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Max nodded. Mari, who was slowly becoming more and more angry, glared at him – not a good look on her; her nose wrinkles up, and her ears turn red.

"Pardon me for interrupting this sibling quarrel," Ferdinand said humbly. "But what's a battery, why did it die, and does it need a proper burial?" Mari stopped glaring, and stared at Ferdinand like he grew a second head – likewise for Max. Ferdinand felt confused. "Because, I've got my spade here and…" Then the children looked at each, and burst out laughing. Poor Ferdinand felt uncomfortable, like he had said something wrong and just stood there awkwardly.

"What?" he asked, staring at the two.

**Please review! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**_*Boink*_ :P Enjoy!**

Max and Mari began to explain what batteries were, what they did, why they died sometimes, and no, it didn't need a proper burial; you're spade skills won't be needed at the moment. Ferdinand listened closely, nodding his head every now and then, though his brow creased with confusion.

"See, they power electronic devices, like my iPhone, or a flashlight," Max said. "And they-"

"Shh!" Ferdinand hissed sharply, his hand held out for silence. Max and Mari hardly dared to breathe, as Ferdinand seemed to concentrate very hard on something, listening, holding his breath.

"Wargs!" he whispered. Mari gasped, and spun around, and saw a pack of the beasts rushing towards them, baring their teeth and, foaming at the mouth in rage.

"Get behind me!" Ferdinand shouted, bringing his spade in front of him for some means of defence. Max scurried behind the Hobbit, but Mari was surrounded. In a panic, she flung herself on the ground, curling up into a ball, and, while still around her neck, she slipped the Ring onto her finger, and disappeared.

"She did it again!" Max cried, noticing. Ferdinand didn't hear him, as he desperately tried to scare the Wargs off with his shovel.

"What a Hobbit would do for a decent sword right now!" he snapped, as he hit Wargs with the spade.

There were just too many; they snuck up behind, and tried to attack Max, but, as he lay on the ground, he kicked them in the face, trying to get them to go away. But to no avail. Then, a booming voice echoed across the valley, seeming to cause the very trees to shiver down to their roots.

**_"BEGONE!"_**

The Wargs snarled, but turned and fled. Ferdinand collapsed, exhausted, and Max sat up. Mari, still invisible, stared off into the distance, wondering where the sound came from.

"Who goes there?" Ferdinand called weakly. "Friend or foe?"

"Friend, young Halfing, friend," an old, yet kind voice answered. The person was still out of sight over the hill.

"Who are you?"

"My name would mean nothing to you, unless you heard the tales of old," the voice replied. "I am Gandalf the White." As he spoke these words, a tall, elderly man with long white hair, a short white beard, and a white robe came into view. He held a tall staff in his right hand, a warm smile on his wrinkled old face.

"Gandalf the White," Mari whispered, sitting up and slipping the Ring off her finger. Her eyes lit up with shock, and excitement.

"Hello, young Halfing," Gandalf greeted Ferdinand.

"You're the Gandalf that assisted Frodo?" Ferdinand asked, amazed.

"The very same." Mari rushed over, her eyes sparkling.

"Gandalf the White!" she repeated, still unable to believe her eyes.

"Who are you two Children?" Gandalf asked.

"I'm Maxwell Taylor, and this is my sister, Marigold," Max introduced. "And you're…"

"Gandalf," Mari breathed. "You have to be one of my most favourite characters – er – people."

"I know in your world these events may just be fiction," Gandalf told her with a twinkle in his eye. "I understand." He smiled.

The sun gleamed on the golden Ring the dangled on Mari's chest. It caught Gandalf's eye, and when he saw it, he frowned.

"No," he murmured. "It can't be?"

"What can't be?" Mari asked, then looked down, and realised what he meant. "Oh, yeah."

"It was destroyed," Gandalf said, unable to believe his eyes.

"It wasn't, actually," Max said.

"How did you get it?" Gandalf asked.

"Funny story, actually," Max began, rubbing the back of his head. "It kinda dropped in through my bedroom window, and when Mar here found out, she got all excited, saying it was the One Ring, and all that."

"Well, if you're on your way to destroy it, I suppose all is well. No Orcs or Ring Wraiths to try and stop you and no Gollum to try and take it back. I can't say the same about Sauron, I'm afraid, but really your worst concerns are the Wargs."

"We know," Ferdinand said.

"And, if you don't wear it," Gandalf continued. "You should be fine." Mari bit her lip as she glanced over at Max.

"Mari actually did put it on in my room," Max said.

"To prove to you it was the Ring," Mari added. "Doubting Thomas," she added to herself.

"This was the only occasion?" Gandalf asked.

"And I put it on to protect myself from the Wargs that just attacked," Mari confessed.

"Only twice?"

"Yes."

"As long as you don't give into the temptation to wear it again," Gandalf said thoughtfully, "you will probably be fine."

"Thank you, Gandalf, sir," Mari sighed with relief.

"How did you know we were here, Gandalf?" Ferdinand asked, as they sat down to a quick meal – one which Gandalf happily provided.

"The boy's yell alerted me," Gandalf answered, gesturing to Max, whose face turned bright red. "I thought you might be in some sort of trouble."

"That was before the Wargs," Max admitted. "My… iPhone ran out of battery."

"It died, you see," Ferdinand interrupted, eager to explain what he had just learned. "Batteries don't need a proper burial."

"Thank you for explaining, Ferdinand," Gandalf said, stifling a laugh. "I'm very surprised the Ring hasn't been destroyed, and I didn't know of it," Gandalf said.

"It's been years," Ferdinand said a far-off look in his face. "Samwise Gamgee, he helped Frodo the whole way," he added proudly.

"That he did, young Halfling," Gandalf nodded.

"He's my ancestor; I have no idea how many 'greats' there are, but there sure are a lot of them."

"Fifteen to be exact," Gandalf told him. "It's been around three thousand years."

"Fifteen," Ferdinand muttered, and began to count on his fingers. "There was my father, then grandfather Adalgrim, then great-grandfather Lotho, then…" He muttered to himself, wandering away slightly form the group.

"Hey, you're a Wizard, right?" Max asked staring after Ferdinand as he paced; his mind was somewhere else at that point.

"Yes."

"Could you, maybe, recharge my iPhone?"

"I've heard of those iPhones," Gandalf said, as though in disgust. "But I haven't let them into Middle-earth. They corrupt your mind worse than the Ring itself." Max stared at his iPhone, and shrugged.

"You are joking, right?" Mari asked, slightly concerned for her brother's wellbeing.

"Of course, little maiden," Gandalf chuckled. "Not quite as bad, but very close." Mari breathed a sigh of relief.

"But will you?" Max asked, getting impatient.

"Very well," Gandalf said. He took the iPhone, and connected it to his staff, which glowed blue at the top. "It shan't take too long."

**Please review! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoyify!**

After Max's iPhone charged up, he asked if Gandalf could put a GPS Satellite to orbit Middle-earth. Gandalf just laughed and told them to keep going.

"I see you have hardly any provisions," he noted, as he stood to leave.

"Wargs," Ferdinand said. Gandalf needed no explanation.

"Down the hill and a little into the forest," he said, pointing with his staff, "you'll find the house of Gormadoc Cottar and his wife, Adaldrida. Tell them I sent you; they're good friends of mine. They'll take you in for the night, and provide you with food and water skins, as well as fresh clothes." He gazed at the children's torn jeans and T-shirts, and Ferdinand's shabby top and pants.

"Thank you," Mari said. Gandalf nodded, and began to walk away.

"Please, sir," Ferdinand said. "Why did you come this way?"

"I'm on my way to visit Elrond in Rivendell," Gandalf replied. "Don't forget to mention to Adalgrim Cottar I sent you; though they take in many travellers, you'll be the guests of honour there."

"Farewell, Gandalf," Ferdinand called.

"Farewell, Halfing; Children, farewell!"

"Goodbye!" Mari cried, waving frantically. Gandalf smiled, gave a slow wave, and disappeared over the hill; back where he came from.

"So, what do we do?" Max asked; Mari was still dazzled from meeting one of her most favourite characters; Ferdinand was mulling over the Wizard's words.

"My life is now half complete," Mari sighed happily.

"What?" Max asked, giving her a look.

"I've met Gandalf," she said. "Now I just have to meet Aslan, and I'll be the happiest girl alive!"

"Oh, brother." Max rolled his eyes, clearly not caring.

"You should at least read some of the books!" Mari argued.

"No thanks," Max said. "If there's no game, I'm not interested." He crossed his arms.

"As a matter of fact…" Mari said slyly.

"Oh, brother!"

"We got to the Cottar's," Ferdinand interrupted. Max and Mari stared at him, not understanding what he meant.

"Gandalf's friends," Ferdinand explained. Mari nodded slowly, and Max just shrugged.

"Fine by me," he said. "Won't mind sleeping in a proper bed for once."

"A hot bath sounds perfect right about now," Mari added. They gathered their bundled up cloaks, and carried them under their arms, now it was warmer.

They trekked down the hill, and came to a forest.

"Is this the one that Wizard talked about?" Max asked, gazing through the trees. It wasn't a dark, gloomy forest which made one think of spiders, and other nasty things; it was a light forest, with trees far enough apart that the sun could shine through the leaves in a green tone. You could hear birds sing happily to one another, and the occasional deer came across your path, grazing the short green grass, or drinking at a small stream. They would lift their heads, and leap off into the trees, not exactly frightened of your presence, but wary. Mari longed for her camera, and finally settled with a piece of paper Ferdinand had, and an old biro she found in her pocket, sitting quickly near the bushes, and trying to capture the peaceful beasts before they noticed her, and bounded off. A mother deer and her fawn were drinking in a stream. Mari sat quietly, her pen flying, hardly daring to breathe. Finally she finished her drawing, and slowly stood up, rustling the bushes behind her, and causing the deer to scamper off.

"Come on, lass," Ferdinand called. "Time to go." Mari followed, handed Ferdinand her drawing, and gathered up her cloak, putting it on.

"It's nice, lass," Ferdinand said. Mari looked at it once more, and wrinkled her nose.

"No," she said. "Mom draws a whole lot better, and if I had a pencil and eraser, it would have been better. Max had to agree.

"She's right," he said.

"Considering the circumstances, lad, it's good," Ferdinand protested.

After a few more minutes of walking, they found a small cottage in a little clearing.

"How sweet," Mari said. "It's a little house in the big woods." Ferdinand nodded as he knocked on the door, and stood back a step. He looked humbly at the woman who answered a smile on her lips when she saw the Children and Halfing.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Pardon, ma'am," Ferdinand said. "We were sent here by Gandalf the White; he told us you could give a room for the night, and some provisions for our journey."

"Of course," she said. "Come in, come in. Oh, aren't you just the sweetest," - to Mari – "What's a dear little girl like you doing out and about?" Mari had hidden the Ring under her shirt before Mrs. Cottar had answered.

"A quest, ma'am," she mumbled, feeling shy as the woman put her arm around her shoulder in a motherly gesture.

"Your clothes are queer," she said. "But they're torn; I must get you some new ones."

"Would you have any that would fit?" Mari asked.

"We never gave away our children's clothes," Adaldrida said. "I think I have just the thing that will fit you." She disappeared into a room, leaving the Hobbit and two Children waiting. After a few moment, she came back, carrying a bundle of clothes.

"Here are some things for you," she said, handing a green, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of brown pants, and matching suspenders to Ferdinand, "and you," a white, long-sleeved shirt, and black pants for Max, "and for you." A blue dress and white pinafore for Mari. "You three can take turns changing in this room." She pointed to the room she got the clothes from. "I'll get you two some boots, and clean yours up a bit, Master Hobbit." She took Ferdinand's boots, and scurried down the hall to the kitchen. Ferdinand cleared his throat.

"After you," he said to Mari. Mari looked at Max, how nodded, and she went into the room to change.

Not even ten minutes later, the three of them were in the kitchen with Adaldrida, drinking milk, and eating little cakes she had made.

"So Gandalf the White sent you?" she asked, intrigued. Max nodded.

"He was a friend of my ancestor," Ferdinand said proudly. "Samwise Gamgee."

"Oh, yes, I've heard of him," Adaldrida smiled. "He was part of that Fellowship of the Ring."

"Yes."

"What brings you three young people here?" These were questions the company didn't want to have to answer. They gave each other nervous glances, silently urging the other to answer. Finally, Mari spoke up.

"We have been assigned to a very important, highly classified quest," she said truthfully. "We were a larger group, until last night, when we were attacked by Wargs during the night, and got separated."

"How awful," Adaldrida said sympathetically.

"We just hope the rest of them are doing all right," Ferdinand said softly. Max and Mari nodded in agreement.

"Where are you two from?" Adaldrida asked the siblings.

"Distant lands," Mari said. "Not even sure how we got here."

"Kidnapped?"

"Felt more like teleportation," Max muttered.

"How simply thrilling."

"Please ma'am," Ferdinand said. "Where is your husband?"

"He's out hunting our supper," Adaldrida answered.

"Would he be possibly hunting dinner, too?" Ferdinand asked hopefully.

"He always brings more than enough," Adaldrida assured him. "I'm sure you can have a dinner before supper. I know the ways of Hobbits." She winked at the Children.

**Pleaseeeeeeeeesah review! :D**


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